ICON 1000 Elsinore boots long term review

Alex Quinn once said these boots are the Honda Ridgeline of motorcycle boots.
Is that true? Maybe?

I have 2 pairs of these.
The black pair, I bought in 2016, and I use on my ’79 IT250.
The brown pair, I bought in 2020, and I use on my ’01 XR650L, and I bought these to keep out in Montana.

They’re both basically the same, except the brown ones are the “HP” version which is kinda the 2nd version that came out a couple years after the first, and they have a metal shin plate.
But, not to be confused with the newest “icon-elsinore-2-boots” version which came out recently and seem unfortunately worse.

Anyway, why am I making this post?
I don’t know… This year I told myself I’d get a “better” pair of mx boots like the “Alpinestars Tech 7 Enduro Boots“. They seem like the best option and are more comfy for dual sport riding, living in them etc.
I’ve looked at them a few times, and I just can’t do it. I just can’t.
Why do all modern ADV / dirt bike boots have to be so damn ugly and dumb looking?

So it got me thinking, do I really need to change boots?
Was Alex Quinn right?
I don’t know…
I’ve done a ton of riding in each pair.
Lots of trips.
Lots of trails. Lots of rocks.
Lots of pretty technical gnarly shit.
Lots of walking around supermarkets and sitting around campsites.
A handful of riding at the local MX track.
I’ve thrown almost everything at them and I have no complaints.

Am I doing the most insane technical difficult riding like 5 miles of hell? No, I’m not.
Maybe if I ever plan to do something like 5 miles of hell, I’ll get the Tech 7 Enduro then I suppose, but honestly… I’m sure the Elsinore boots would be fine.

The Elsinore boots do have protection.
They do have a metal toe-box.
They do have reinforced shin plates.
They do have ankle protection on both sides, however the ankles can bend.
They’re def pretty fuggin stiff, but not as stiff as real racing MX boots.
I like that they have a normal wedge sole like a Vibram sole on RedWings. It’s a real sole that can be re-soled.

I guess I’ve found them to be pretty good at everything.
Anyway, that’s my take.
I’m keeping them going.

Maybe someday in the near future, an mx boot manufacturer will come out with a dual sport / enduro boot, that’s both protective, and more normal looking?

2 responses to “ICON 1000 Elsinore boots long term review”

  1. Alex Quinn says:

    Alex Quinn was right. Being lucky doesn’t mean these boots are worth a shit. Buy real boots. Quit being a fashion diva.

  2. brad says:

    No amount of good looking boots will make up for how ugly IT’s are or how fat XR650’s are.

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